


It's Never Easy

by Elemental1025



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Also... Fuck You Endgame, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Established Relationship, Fix-It, I don't care how Engame Actually Ends, M/M, Post-Endgame, Pre-Falcon and Winter Soldier Marvel Streaming Show, This will be my MCU canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-10 22:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17434850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elemental1025/pseuds/Elemental1025
Summary: Bucky gets a phone call.  Steve folds laundry.





	It's Never Easy

**Author's Note:**

> (04/24: added an additional tag, because... yeah)

“Sounds good Sam, I’ll see you at 0600. And tell Fury he can ask me himself next time, or it’s no go.”  Bucky disconnected the call and pressed his phone against his lips.  This was _not_ going to be an easy conversation. 

Steve had been acclimating really well.  After everything had been put back the way it was supposed to be, things were probably the best they had ever been.  And the two of them had finally had a chance to just _be_ for a while.  But they’d known it was only a matter of time and now Fury had an op that a Super Soldier would be “just perfect for”.  Especially one trained in infiltration and covert tactics.  Especially one that was fluent in Russian.

He knew Steve had heard both sides of the conversation, so he didn’t bother explaining as he moved to stand in the doorway of their room, watching while Steve continued to fold their laundry, trying - and failing miserably - to pretend he hadn’t heard the entire conversation. 

“Tell me what you’re feeling?”  This was a new thing, but they were both determined to keep communication as open and honest as possible.  They’d already spent a lifetime hiding the most important parts of themselves from each other; they weren’t going to lose any more time. 

Steve clenched his jaw, but relaxed it almost immediately, “I just… I know I can’t, but I wanna go too.”

“Yeah.”  Neither one of them was good at staying behind, but Fury had specifically emphasized that this was a covert op and a big, blond Super Soldier, whose beautiful face was currently plastered all over the internet was not going to be covert by any stretch of _anyone’s_ imagination, no matter how much they tried to camouflage him.

Steve frowned as he fiddled with a t-shirt that had a big heart around a German Sheppard with a metal leg, and a Golden Retriever decked out with the Captain America logo.

The pitiful look on Steve’s face shot straight to Bucky’s heart and he just couldn’t take it, “Jesus, c’mere.”

As Steve turned to him, Bucky wrapped him up in a tight hug and just held on. Steve tucked his head comfortably into Bucky’s neck, breathing him in.

“Semi-retirement kinda sucks, doesn’t it?”

Steve nodded. 

Bucky tightened his grip around Steve’s back, holding him close, and then shifted his hands to tuck them into Steve’s back pockets as he considered his options, “How about if I promise to text you, keep you updated.”

“No!  I don’t wanna distract you, you’re gonna be working!”

“So I’ll only do it when it’s safe.”

“Then I’ll worry when I don’t hear from you…”

Bucky sighed, nosing into the soft hair behind Steve’s ear.

“Okay, I’ll have Maria keep you updated on a schedule. She’ll give you the current sitrep at 0800 every day.  Let you know what our progress is and what our estimated completion date is as it evolves, because I know you… you’re gonna worry either way.  But at least this way, your worry will have parameters and won’t spiral quite so much out of control.”

Steve considered that option, “Yeah, okay… that might work.” Finally satisfied that Bucky wasn’t going to compromise anyone’s safety on his account, he sighed heavily, unconsciously trying to make himself small like he used to be, in the cradle of Bucky’s arms. “I’m gonna miss you.”

Bucky closed his eyes and held on tighter, “Yeah, me too.”


End file.
